Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Since 2010, the Sage Grouse Initiative has enrolled 1,300+ ranchers to conserve over 5 million acres of sagebrush country, benefiting 350 species

One year ago today, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the greater sage-grouse did not
warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. This historic
decision was due in part to unprecedented voluntary partnerships like
the USDA's Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) that are working to conserve
America’s vast sagebrush country. To mark the anniversary, SGI released an online report tracking
sagebrush conservation outcomes across 11 western states over the past
year. The results show that conservation efforts for the sage grouse
also benefit 350 other species that depend on healthy sagebrush habitat
-- including people."We're in this for the long haul," says SGI
coordinator Thad Heater. "We look forward to maintaining momentum
through our $211 million sage grouse investment strategy, dubbed SGI
2.0, that will protect an estimated 8 million acres by 2018." Heater also notes that the
collaborative conservation model launched with SGI is spreading. Private
landowners across the nation are now putting in place practices that
benefit all sorts of at-risk species as well as agricultural operations
through NRCS’ Working Lands for Wildlife. Conservation initiatives are
underway for turtles, fish, and rabbits, as well as sage grouse.Since
2010, SGI has worked with dozens of partners and 1,300+ ranchers to
conserve over 5 million acres of prime wildlife habitat and agricultural
rangeland...more

With respect specifically to the sage grouse, its a real stretch to call this "voluntary". Its the threat of a listing that has forced most landowners to participate.If you threaten somebody and they respond, was their response voluntary? Or was their response caused by the threat.

2 comments:

You’ve got a very bad attitude Frank. You should know that cooperation with the USDA-NRCS is, and always has been, voluntary. Furthermore, is attempting to save the Sage Grouse such a bad thing? Have you ever seen a passenger pigeon? Neither have I.